Wednesday, October 12

[dirac]

Boston Ballet presents a new piece set to the music of the Rolling Stones.

Quote

But this piece takes classics like "Paint It Black" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and gives them a ballet twist.     

Choreographer Stephen Galloway told WBZ-TV the Rolling Stones have a long relationship with Boston, with Mick Jagger even working out with the dancers in the past.

 

[dirac]

Charlotte Ballet presents "Under the LIghts," set to the music of Johnny Cash.

Quote

Charlotte has never seen something like “Under the Lights.” Imagine choosing between a rock show and a ballet, but instead, you get both.

 

[dirac]

Deborah MacMillan and Edward Watson talk about the staging of "Mayerling."

Quote

So the people now passing on Mayerling feel protective of the ballet rather than possessive? “Exactly. That’s it in a nutshell,” Deborah says. “It’s about taking care of the information,” Watson adds, “a huge responsibility. Particularly with MacMillan, because it looks so free, as if they’ve just come up with it in the moment. But his genius is that it was carefully worked out to make you believe that. Musically, technically, there’s a huge amount of precision.”

 

[dirac]

Grand Rapids Ballet kicks off its new season.

Quote

Along with its normal season performances, Grand Rapids Ballet is bringing back its free family matinee performances. Those events include a demonstration of ballet, audience interaction, a performance from the professional dancers and a chance to meet the dancers.

 

[dirac]

Behind the scenes with Ballet Memphis' costume department as they prepare "Dracula."

Quote

Diaz and her team have been experimenting with different types of fake blood so they won’t ruin the costumes.

Ballet Memphis is also encouraging the audience to dress up as well.

 

[dirac]

A review of Oregon Ballet Theatre by Martha Ullman West for Oregon ArtsWatch.

Quote

Typically, artistic directors announce who they are and where they came from with the first ballet on a mixed bill at the start of a new season, usually with a work that showcases most of the company’s dancers. OBT Interim Artistic Director Peter Franc has done exactly that with “Hush,” although in it he’s presenting less than a third of the professional company, in a technically eclectic ballet that contains classical elements: duets, trios, port de bras, and lots of second-position pliés to tell a story of the joys and sorrows of family life.

 

[dirac]

A review of the Paris Opera Ballet by Ilona Landgraf in "Landgraf on Dance."

Quote

Alan Lucien Øyen: not a particularly familiar name to dance audiences outside of his home country of Norway – but his new creation “Cri de cœur” (“Cry of the Heart”) for the Paris Opera Ballet will soon change that.
Øyen grew up in Bergen, where he was introduced to the theater at the young age of seven. He received his dance training at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and subsequently joined contemporary ensembles in Norway and Cologne. In 2004, Øyen turned to choreography; two years later, he founded Winter Guests, an interdisciplinary touring company. I missed his 2018 “Bon Voyage, Bob” at the Tanztheather Wuppertal and was curious to finally learn about his work in Paris.

 

[dirac]

An obituary for Stephanie Dabney by Brian Murphy in The Washington Post,

Quote

A breakthrough moment for Ms. Dabney came on Jan. 12, 1982, when the Dance Theatre debuted its reinterpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s 1910 “The Firebird,” restaged in a tropical setting with Ms. Dabney in the title role with choreography by John Taras. Ms. Dabney’s performance, wearing a feathered crown and short tutu with flowing crimson tulle, received strong reviews and came to define the contemporary version of the role, in which the Firebird helps a man end the immortality of the “prince of evil.”